Reviewing the L'Brett D'or from the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project out of Denver, Colorado.

Score: 97

2012 vintage bottle served in a Perennial snifter/tulip hybrid glass and enjoyed on 06/04/13.

Appearance: Pours a murky and translucent dull golden color with a thin layer of off-white head. The color is not as vibrant as the dry hopped version. Average lacing and retention. 4/5

Smell: Sour juiciness! Sour orange, lemon juice, apricot, peach and white grape. Smells like tropical citrus juice that is slightly infected. Has a strong nexus in aroma with the dry hopped version, but without the hop character and a less "intense"/in-your-face citrusiness. Touch of straw, hint of alcohol, and a touch of funk too. 4.75/5

Taste: Tastes just like it smells. Sour citrus juice. Juicy juicy juicy! A little more apricot and peach forward than nose. Tastes like tart, bretted tropical Minute Maid juice. Dry oak flavor in the finish. A little lacto and lemon. Quite very tart. Has a little bit of funk and plastic flavor in finish, which was not present in the dry hopped version. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Light plus bodied, low carbonation. Very tart. Dry on the sides of the gums but less dry on tongue. The tartness of this brew makes the tip of the tongue tingle. 5/5

Overall: One of my absolute favorite American sours. It is quite similar to the dry hopped version, which takes the citrus intensity to the next level. I wish I had more of these! I will have to stock up during the next release.

Holy jesus christ monkey balls. I've been wanting to try this for a while and it definitely lived up to the hype. Upfront sourness, juicy chardonnay, vanilla, oak, sweet honey, slightly acedic on the back end. Truly amazing. Light to medium body, insanely drinkable, and overall one of the best American wilds I have ever had. (326 characters)

Huge tropical passion fruit aromas and taste, fleshy peach pit, puckering sourness with a nicely dry finish. Light bodied and effervescent. Crisply sour and vibrant. This is a real contender, up there with Temptation to my taste. I could see the dry hop version being pretty interesting, in the same vein of Le Terroir. (521 characters)

T- Very sour, lemon, apricots, nice funk in the finish, some oak and white wine, definitely has a good amount of brett.

M- Light body, ton of carbonation.

O- This is my first beer from Crooked Stave and it is great. Very sour. Could be more balanced, would like a more funk, but still a amazing beer. Again big thanks to JMBSH for this one! (546 characters)

Thanks to mrbubbler for sharing this one during the Churchill's weekend festivities.

Pours a murky honey orange with a foamy tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, Brett, herbs, and a peachy fruit aroma. Taste is much the same with super tart grain and fruity flavors and an alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with a nice balance between sourness and the Brett presence. (647 characters)

Chilled in fridge, pour into HF stem. thanks to my friend in CO for hooking this up!A: cloudy golden dark-amber with a white colored 1cm head. Plenty of Co2 champagne like bubbles, very reactive and clings to the glass when agitated, responsive. Minimal lacing.

T: initial taste is very acidic … sour apple which leaves your tongue wanting more and more. As this beer goes down the hatch I continue to taste the powerful puckering tartness of the beer. The back end of this beer tastes like you just licked the porch after a fresh rain.

M: light mouth feel with light to medium carbonation.

O: overall I think this beer is up to par with beatification, and golden canary. The only thing that sets it apart from these 2 is the powerful oak after-punch. With some time this beer will be hard to beat side by side the competitors. (911 characters)

T: Moderately high tartness, mostly creamy lactic. Lots of berry fruit to the point that I'm questioning my understanding that no actual fruit was added to this beer.

M: Lowish carbonation. Extremely long linger.

O: Really, really tasty beer, although a little more carbonation would be nice. I'd love to have another bottle of this to age for a while and see if it picks up more carbonation over time. While the lactic character dominates, is has a richness and complexity that missing from, for example, most Cascade sours. (687 characters)

Poured a cloudy honey color with a thin head. Smells of citrus- orange and some grape. The first taste is sour lemon citrus with some grape and has a dry oaky finish. Carbonation is medium with a medium body. Overall a very interesting and flavorful sour beer. (260 characters)

newer one from crooked stave. pours a pale hazy yellow color with a fair bit of delicate white lace. the nose is lemony and sour apple sour, bretty and yeasty, with a very light malt profile and tons of ripe fruit. the flavor is tart all the way, a mix of green apple and lemon zest seem to be the most dominant flavors, and there is some sweetness behind the tart too, but the oaky sourness really takes control. its not quite as sour as some other crooked stave offerings, but it is a fantastic way to feature brettanomyces fermentation. could use a tad more carbonation, but the acidic sourness makes it really pop in the mouth, and the body is quite light for a beer of this complexity. its dry too, adding to drinkablity, and its mouthwatering to the point i had to order a second one. not my favorite of their beers, but certainly another distinct brew. (859 characters)

A-A normal pour produces a very thin head that drops quickly. The brew is lightly cloudy and cider-colored. There is no visible carbonation.

S-The smell is tart with flavors of sour apple and vinegar. A touch of bread/dough and mild funk, too. Not very brett-forward.

T-The taste is sour, but not mouth-puckering. I get apples, grapes, and a little lemony sweetness. It is a pleasing mixture of fruit, but not very funky or brett-forward.

M-Like many Crooked Stave beers, this one is slightly flat, but the feel is a nice match for the style. Medium bodied.

O-This is a pleasant, balanced sour beer. It is not spectacularly complex or in-your-face flavorful, but it has enough acid to work with food or drink on its own. If you want super funky brett/barnyard flavors (or a cheap beer...this one was $10 or $11 for the 375ml), look somewhere else. But if you want a nice, tart-drinking sour with good orchard fruit flavors, this is a good option. (1,006 characters)

Very balanced flavor. Has typical brett funkiness, but also a good clean tartness to add more depth. Sour grapes and apples with a lot of drying oak and musty funk. Glad to see some tartness as I generally feel just brett/no sour is boring.

Pours a hazy orange-bronze with a slight translucent head that quickly dissipates. Aroma is funky, woody, and sweet. Sugared apples, a little bready, oak, hay and a slight tease of some thin vanilla. Flavor starts off nice and sour and evolves into sweet; apples, caramel, a little oak, and sugar coated hay. As it warms, a little vanilla can show itself. Medium body, some activity. Overall, this a great brew and right up there with Crooked Stave's best. They are really beginning to hit their stride. Digging the new size format for sure, not digging the price point. (570 characters)

375ml bottle $11.49. Dark orange color, good lace but not much head. Aroma is hints of sour beer, apples, not bad at all. Flavor is good, slightly sour, slightly sweet, apples, not much wood influence here. Mouthfeel was fine but overall I was a little disappointed by this. Its too bad to see them switch to a smaller bottle and charge almost as much as the 750ml. For $11.49 I can spend the extra fifty cents and get Supplication instead which is what I will be doing from now on. I was just starting to get a taste for Crooked Stave but they are overpriced plain and simple. (577 characters)

375ml brown glass bottle with waxed-over pressure cap served into a Gouden Carolus stem-goblet in me gaff in high altitude Castle Rock, Colorado. Reviewed live. Expectations are below average given the brewery, which has yet to impress me.

Served straight from the refrigerator and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a one finger off-white colour head of decent cream and thickness, and average retention. Little lacing. Body colour is a non-opaque hazy pale copper-yellow. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.